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Shedding Light on Caravaggio |
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written
by kelih / 09.28.2004 |
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THE CONTARELLI CHAPEL
The paintings in the Contarelli Chapel were meant to continue the honoring of Cardinal Contarelli’s patron saint, St. Matthew, and to allow the general public to see the highlights of the Saint’s life and death. In painting the scenes of the calling, martyrdom and inspiration for the gospel of St. Matthew, Caravaggio did much more than just simply portray St. Matthew in an honorable fashion. He brought the sacred scene into the space of the viewer, helping them to identify with the scene taking place. His voluminous figures and often architectural positioning caused the viewer to feel as though the figures were coming out of the painting. This is most notably seen with St. Matthew and the Angel, in which the bench St. Matthew sits on is tilting off of the edge of the painting into the viewer’s space. The dark atmosphere of all of the paintings, along with the highlight of the figures from a light source outside of the painting, creates a highly dramatized effect. This contributes to the emotional response felt by the viewer. In The Calling of St. Matthew, the painting was meant to portray the salvation of St. Matthew from his life as the tax collector. Although his life started out in sin, once he followed Christ, he was saved. This conveys a message of hope for the sinful viewer as well as the forgiving nature of God. In The Martyrdom of St. Matthew, the viewer is reminded of the sacrifices that were made by St. Matthew in the name of Christ. The men on the left-hand side in modern dress among those who witnessed St. Matthew’s martyrdom represents the need for those in the present to recognize and remember the sacrifices made by those in the past. In St. Matthew and the Angel, the divine inspiration of God is portrayed. With St. Matthew in a moment of sudden inspiration with the angel, the divinity and power of God is seen as he writes one of his most important accomplishments of his life, his part of the Gospel. Along with the different messages conveyed by each painting, the viewer was meant to feel a deep religious response as they interpret the scene in all its realism and darkness. The final effect was that of the common person experiencing the divinity of God through the medium of painting as a way to make the supernatural tangible.
THE CERASI CHAPEL
The same is true for the Cerasi Chapel. Although the patron had to approve of the design of the paintings, there was no other intended viewer of the scenes except for the public. In these paintings, The Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter, the minimal amount of figures in addition to the saint were meant to signify the deeply personal experience felt by the saint. There is no audience shown, just the saints in their state of divinity. In the Conversion of St. Paul, the inaction of the picture magnifies the experience of St. Paul as the light floods over his body. His outstretched arms signify his acceptance of his salvation. Here the viewer also sees the horse, who takes up a large part of the composition. First the viewer’s eyes are drawn to its enormous rear, and then following the outstretched arms, to the figure of St. Paul on his back with his eyes closed in ecstasy. The horse also looks fairly calm, as if it is was not the horse that threw St. Paul to the God, but instead it was through the power of God that St. Paul is now helplessly laying the ground. The message conveyed here is the power of God, as well as the arbitrary nature in which God chooses Saul to become St. Paul. The viewer notices that St. Paul is conveyed here as a young man, who has no distinguishable features of a saint. He also was a Roman soldier persecuting the Christians before his conversion. Together, these facts give hope to the viewer for their own salvation. If God can forgive someone who was killing his followers and looks like a common youth, than he can also forgive the sins of the viewer who most likely is someone from the general public stopping at the church.
On the opposite side, the viewer sees a scene in action and movement. From a distance, the viewer is drawn to the dark painting, and first comes upon the large rear end of an executioner with very dirty feet. At first this seems like a joke, until the viewer is led from the executioner to the main focus of the painting, which is St. Peter’s crucifixion. In The Crucifixion of St. Peter, the main message conveyed to the viewer is faith. Not only is there a rock placed boldly in the front plane of the painting signifying St. Peter as the rock of faith with which the Catholic Church was founded, but St. Peter himself is looking toward the altar. Even in the moments before his death by crucifixion, he still is showing faith to God. All the figures around him are very mechanical, and uninvolved in the emotional part of the painting. This is a very intimate scene showing St. Peter’s faith in his last moments before death. As in the other paintings by Caravaggio, the background and atmosphere are dark, except for a light from an unknown source highlighting St. Peter on the cross. This draws the viewer’s attention to the act of raising the cross, and then to St. Peter and his calm and serene demeanor as this brutal crucifixion is occurring. Again, this calm expression in the face of death further emphasizes St. Peter’s faith, exemplifying to the general public what is true faith.
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